Adding 2nd ac to 355QBQ

[GSF63]

The 355QBQ is prewired for the second ac and braced. I was wondering if you need to use a low profile ac up front. The height of the unit is listed as 13 foot high. Is a standard ac too tall. Has anyone used a heat pump for late season camping because I was thinking of replacing the main ac with a heat pump and putting the old one up front.

Thanks,

Gary

[jimh]

if u r at 13' now, i would put a low profile.

now with that said, i installed a carrier heat pump (full size...they r cheaper) in my fdw slot. i think i'm just a little over 13' now. i have made it under some private overpasses that were labeled 13'6". i really need to hook the trailer to the truck and make some measurements. i made my measurements while it was on the landing gear and question my accuracy.

ur going to put a little more weight on the trailer an a little more wind load. i doubt if u will be able to tell the difference on towing performance or fuel economy...i haven't.

when i installed mine, i had to box in the area between the adic and roof cut out. the carrier didn't come with anything to box the area in.
be prepaired to seal the holes in the rubber roof left by the screws that held the crank up vent/skylight.
something else to look for is the duct from the other a/c. i've read (in a post) that the hole is already cut and all u have to do is remove the tape to tie the fdw a/c into the existing duct work. i didn't look so i really can't say. if it is, tying in may be an option u may want to look into. that way u can benefit from the heat pump through out. mine just blows in the bed room. it can be felt in the lower part though.

[blatch70]

Just curious, but why the second a.c.? We just bought our 355qbq a month ago, and have not used the a.c. yet. Is the one not enough? Maybe we should consider a second unit as well. Thanks.

[GSF63]

Last summer in DC the temps were in the high 90's to 102 and the one ac couldn't keep up. The temp inside would raise up to around 80 to 85 in the late afternoon. I'm also looking at the heat pump for saving the propane. We tried a Thanksgiving trip in 2010 and it was cold in KY. We went through both tanks of propane in three days.

[jimh]

i put the second a/c in mine to have a spare and not be without. decided on the heat pump also to save on the propane. cost wasn't much different than an a/c alone.
the first season after installing, we used both features on the first trip out. more of the novolity of running the heat sense we would have put up with the morning chill rather than run the heat for a few degs.
on the same trip, we encountered 115 deg days and one unit would not keep up. was glad we had it. a couple yrs earlier, in the same area, one unit didn't quiet keep up when the outside temp was around 100.
most of the time, we use the unit at night mainly to block outside noise.
one thing ur going to find abt the heat pump, it doesn't work below abt 40 deg. i don't believe it went on heat strip until the outside temp got closer to 35. (mine has a heat strip backup which puts abt 1/3 to 1/2 what the heat pump does).